9/17/2008 @ 12:05PM

What Android Will Bring

After nearly a year of secretive work on its new mobile platform, Android,
Google
is finally pulling back the veil.

On Tuesday, it announced that the first Android phone, made by Taiwanese firm HTC for U.S. operator T-Mobile, will debut Sept. 23 and could go on sale as early as October. It also demonstrated the phone at a Google
Developer event in London and confirmed that it features a large touchscreen, GPS and wi-fi and 3G connectivity.

Google shied away from releasing other details, but Android partner, San Diego-based PacketVideo, which supplied Android’s media software, chatted with Forbes.com about the project.

For starters, Android is fast, says Joel Espelien, PacketVideo’s vice president of strategy.

Espelien claims it would beat any phone in a speed test, including the iPhone 3G, whose ability to quickly load Web sites was touted in June by
Apple
Chief Executive Steve Jobs. The secret to Android’s speed is its clean slate, says Espelien.

Other mobile operating systems, including Symbian, Windows Mobile, Brew and even the iPhone, utilize old technology or code ported from other systems. “Supporting legacy stuff slows you down,” notes Espelien. “Google could target fast hardware from day one.”

He calls the phone a workhorse, with “forward” and “backward” buttons for easy navigation. “It is the first true multitasking operating system on a phone,” proclaims Espelien.

That could be particularly handy as Android isn’t just for phones. Like the iPhone, Android handsets will soon function as remote controls. PacketVideo plans to adapt its “PVConnect” software to allow users to beam video, photos and TV shows between their computers, TVs and game consoles.
AT&T
demonstrated similar applications using iPhones and its broadband technology, U-Verse, on Monday. “There will be diverse products: different form factors, add-on apps, various customer segments to target,” Espelien says.

Although Google’s influence on the phone will be present, Espelien insists it won’t be overwhelming. “It’s not a Google smorgasbord,” he says. “It’s no more in-your-face than Apple’s branding on the iPhone.”

Users won’t encounter a Google banner on every screen, promises Espelien. Nor will the phone load ads every time a call is placed or connected. In fact, there are no “new forms of ads” on the phone–factors that should relieve some of those who are leery of Google’s mobile advertising ambitions.

Although some have doubted Google’s commitment to the project, particularly as key deadlines slipped, Espelien describes Google as one of the toughest customers in the firm’s 10-year history. “They were incredibly demanding and would not cut corners,” says Espelien. “Android is fully baked, with no tricks.”

He is most excited about Android’s software and services, especially its applications. That, of course, is where the iPhone has excelled, following the July creation of an online store that houses more than 3,000 iPhone applications.

Google has said it will launch its own app store for Android. “The Android Market will have robust and representative apps in it,” confirms Espelien. Users will be able to download programs over the air using wi-fi.

Some of the apps will come from big names, similar to the iPhone, confirms Espelien. Google has already selected 50 apps from small teams of developers through its Android Developer Challenge contest. (See “Top 50 Androids.”)

Developers, of course, have plenty of other companies to partner with. But Espelien believes they will choose Android because of its open nature, noting they will be able to access PacketVideo’s multimedia tools as well as the phone’s contact lists, calendar and phone dialer. That’s not possible on, say, the iPhone.

“Android developers can really build apps that feel like part of the phone, not just something glossed on top,” says Espelien. “The developer community will act as a powerful gravitational force.”

That could cause pain for proprietary phone platforms, like Windows Mobile or Symbian, as well as other attempts to do mobile Linux, such as the LiMo Foundation, he says.

Google’s consortium of Android partners, the Open Handset Alliance, has stayed stable at 34 companies for months, but Espelien expects it to grow. He says four of the five largest handset makers will make Android phones–a hint that Sony Ericsson has signed on or soon will. Three of the five–LG,
Motorola
and Samsung–are already OHA members.
Nokia
, the world’s largest phone manufacturer, which announced in June that it would purchase Symbian, probably won’t join the Android movement, concedes Espelien.

Motorola, preoccupied with its new chief and attempts to spin off its handset business, has kept quiet about its Android plans. But Espelien predicts Moto will be a major Android force. The company is desperately searching for buzzy new phones to replace its Razr line, he reasons. In addition, Android runs on
Qualcomm
chips,, and Sanjay Jha, Motorola’s new co-CEO and Qualcomm’s former chief operating officer, is well-versed in Qualcomm-compatible platforms. Such products could show up in less than a year, predicts Espelien.

Even so, the hype building around the handset should really be focused on the platform. “This first device is a showcase,” Espelien says. “The final software is what’s most impressive.”